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Lt. Col. George H. Hoyt, 15th Kansas Cavalry
Col. George W. Veale, 2d Kansas State Militia
Maj. Gen. Samuel R. Curtis, Army of the Border
Brig. Gen. Jo Shelby, Shelby's Division
Capt. Ross Burns, 2d Kansas State Militia
Col. Sydney D. Jackman, Jackman's Brigade
Earlier this afternoon, Confederate cavalry overran the 2d Kansas State Militia during fighting that took place on the farm of Thomas Mockbee. The Kansas regiment suffered many casualties and lost their howitzer to the Confederates.
It was around three o’clock in the afternoon when all hell broke loose near Russell’s Ford on the Big Blue River. A courier from Lt. Col. George H. Hoyt, 15th Kansas Cavalry brought desperate news. The only problem was that the commander of the Kansas State Militia forces guarding Russell’s Ford was not there.
Russell's Ford was the extreme right flank of the Federal defense line on the Big Blue River. Defending Russell's Ford was a brigade of various Kansas State Militia (KSM) units, including a single 24-pounder howitzer battery. Commanding this brigade was Brig. Gen. Melvin S. Grant, who just a couple of weeks earlier had been plying his trade as a wholesale grocer. Prominent among these units was the 2d KSM, about 300 men under the command of Col. George W. Veale.
Around 9:00 am, General Grant received a dispatch from Maj. Gen. Samuel R. Curtis ordering him to “send scouts out on road toward Pleasant Hill, and also toward Independence” to look for enemy movements.
Grant left the howitzer, the 3d KSM, the 23d KSM and the 13th KSM to guard Russell's Ford. Grant ordered the 2d KSM and the 21st KSM, Col. Sandy Lowe commanding, across the river to conduct the scouting patrols. Grant, himself, accompanied the 2d KSM on its patrol toward Hickman Mills. They saw no Confederate activity and headed back to Russell's Ford.
Back at Russell’s Ford, Hoyt’s courier delivered the dispatch. The Federal position at Byram’s Ford had been flanked, and they were pulling back to Westport. Fearing they would be cut off, the KSM units at Russell's Ford began moving as quickly as possible up the road to Westport. In their rush to escape, no officer thought to send a courier to General Grant to let him know what was happening. And to make matters worse, all the militia moved so quickly, they left behind the men trying to withdraw with the brigade's 24-pounder howitzer.
After crossing back to the west side of the Big Blue River, the 2d KSM treated themselves to a snack. But then a courier arrived and informed Grant about what had happened at Byram's Ford. Grant quickly got the regiment moving toward Westport. Just as they were approaching the Mockbee farm, they saw men unlimbering the howitzer and some enemy Cavalry preparing to attack.
On their way to Westport, the KSM units ran into none other than Brig. Gen. Jo Shelby. Accompanied by Col. Frank B. Gordon and the 5th Missouri Cavalry (CSA), the Confederates had crossed the Big Blue River a couple of miles downriver. Gordon's troopers quickly scattered the militia, who fled in disarray through what cover they could find. Shelby dispatched a rider to find Col. Sydney D. Jackman and bring his brigade to this spot.
After scattering the enemy militia, Gordon turned his attention to the howitzer battery. The commander of the single howitzer battery was Capt. Ross Burns, who ordered his men to unlimber and open fire on the Confederates. Just as they did this, Col. Veale and the 2d KSM appeared, returning from their patrol, and they quickly moved forward to support Captain Burns. Veale got his militia into line of battle and fired off a volley at the Confederates, causing Gordon to pull back. General Grant sent couriers to find Major Laing and the 21st KSM, still east of Russell's Ford on patrol, and have them rush here to support the 2d KSM. But there were to be no reinforcements for the 2d KSM.
It wasn’t long before Col. Sydney D. Jackman arrived on the scene with his brigade of Confederate cavalry. A second attack was resisted by the Kansas militiamen. All the time Burns was firing canister into the Confederate ranks, causing many casualties. Jackman prepared his men for another cavalry charge and this time broke the enemy line. The Kansas militiamen scattered. More than two-thirds of the 2d KSM were killed, wounded and captured. The rest, including General Grant and Colonel Veale, managed to withdraw down to Russell's Ford where they met up with the 21st KSM.
There was additional skirmishing until darkness fell and the Confederates withdrew. Grant managed to lead what was left of his shattered command down to New Santa Fe and then back to Olathe, Kansas.
The Confederates have gained control of Russell's Ford, and the wagon train is moving down the Harrisonville Road on its way to New Santa Fe.
Monnett, Howard N. Action Before Westport, 1864. Boulder, CO: University Press of Colorado, 1995.
Sinisi, Kyle S. The Last Hurrah: Sterling Price’s Missouri Expedition of 1864. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2016.
Titterington, Dick. The Battle of Westport, October 21–23, 1864: A Driving Tour of Battle Sites in Kansas City, Independence, and Northeastern Jackson County, Missouri. Overland Park, KS: Trans-Mississippi Musings Press, 2019.